One of the easiest ways to save money on groceries is to create your own personal price book. For a time investment of about 4 hours you could end up saving hundreds of dollars a month. You need an hour or less to type up the price book, and 3 hours to scour local stores […]

Here’s how I break down my shopping with one eye on our health (since it saves money over time) and one on our bottom line. Dairy: we buy all organic. If you can’t find organic, find a hormone free milk (it will say it on the label). If you can find a local producer, even […]

I know, I know, you’re thinking I’m crazy to be devoting a whole blog post to the love of popcorn, but hear me out. 🙂 The reason I like popcorn as a snack is my kids are often empty pits asking for more and more and more food. We are trying to save money so […]

I’ve been purchasing extras of our staples on sale, as well as buying in bulk. I occasionally purchase things from a local buying club, Frontier, or by the case at our local whole foods store (they offer a 10% discount on cases). I also try to stock up when I am near a Trader Joe’s […]

One of the easiest ways to tame the legions of trees in your mailbox from falling is to stop getting so much mail. This will decrease what you bring in so you have less to sort and less to pile. AND it saves a lot of money, since it removes temptation in the form of […]

From all the hubbub I’ve read in the news lately about credit cards being closed, rates skyrocketing, and limits being cut, we have yet to be affected by any of these issues until today. I received a small pamphlet in the mail from Chase that looked like a privacy disclosure and was written in credit […]

We’re over halfway through out no spend month, so here’s an update. We have gone over the $600 mark, as of today our total is $897.82. The new goal is to stay under $1,100. (I know we have 2 expenses left for the month, plus gas and anything else that comes up) We have 12 […]

Turn on any financial news show and the host, say a Suze Orman or a Carmen Wong Ulrich, will mention an emergency fund. It’s always stressed that your emergency fund (aka the EF) should be 3-6 months expenses. Based on savings rates in the US few people have even a few weeks expenses set […]

The start of a new year is the perfect time to declutter your finances, and get all your paperwork organized. You can get all your year-end docs ready, and file your taxes early (get your money sooner! or at least know what you owe), and start the year fresh. After reading about Stephanie’s piles of […]

Hi! I'm Kelly Whalen, writer, frugality expert, debt slayer, and money nerd. Welcome to the Centsible Life, my corner of the internet, where I help women live happier, healthier, and wealthier lives. My goal is to help you save time + money, so you can spend both how you want.

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